Ranchi: Ranchi Rhinos notched up their second consecutive victory with a 3-1 drubbing of Mumbai Magicians in the Hockey India League at the Birsa Munda stadium here on Friday. Dishing out a fast-paced game, Vikas Choudhary latched on a long pass on the left side inside the rival D and he banged the board hard through a brilliant reverse shot, putting the home team 1-0 at the 9th minute.
Bouyed by the lead, the Rhinos unleashed raid after raid and scored the second goal at the 23rd minute through Mandeep Singh who shot into the cage. Up and coming Satbir Singh and Sandeep Singh got a couple of opportunities for Mumbai Magicians but Rhinos defence was equally strong, wading off any threat to their citadel. Suresh Toppo almost got a chance in the 12th minute, but a defender put it away for a corner.
Egged on by home fans, Rhinos increased the tally to 3-0 at the 29th minute through a penalty corner converted by Austin Smith. Chinglensana Singh reduced the margin for Mumbai Magicians as he struck from a rebound off their second penalty corner at the 44th minute.
The Rhinos had won 2-1 in their first encounter against Jaypee Punjab Warriors. Now they top the table with 10 points and better goal difference than Delhi Waveriders. Former Pakistan cricketers Wasim Akram and Rameez Raza and ex-India middle order batsman Sanjay Manjrekar were present to set off the sparks to the electric atmosphere at the 6000-strong crowd at the stadium.
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